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IDS suggests brilliant proposal for post-Brexit immigration system

IAIN Duncan Smith put forward his proposal to ensure Britain has a fully functional immigration system in place following Brexit, suggesting EU citizens should be required to have a job lined up in the UK before moving.

Former Tory leader and Brexit supporter Iain Duncan Smith suggested the UK could "extend the work permit process" after Brexit to ensure Britain has an effective immigration system.

A report from the powerful Commons Home Affairs committee has seen MPs from both sides of the debate unite over criticising the vacuum in government policy on the crucial issue.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Duncan Smith put forward his proposal: "I think the best thing to do is work with what we have got and make it work for everyone around the world

"You basically extend the work permit process across the EU and the rest of the world. People can come here for work but they need to have work to come to and that work needs to have been agreed and accepted that there isn't a person in the UK that could do that work and has the skills to do that work."

Mr Duncan Smith also insisted the Government should make sure to reduce the alleged "pull factors" driving European Union citizens to relocate to Britain.

He continued: "In the last year figures were available, and this is important, more than £4.1 billion was spent on people from the EU who have come over here getting tax credits, child benefits, housing benefits. That's one of the great pull factors.

"Leaving the EU, we should not be offering for people to come over here just looking for work and to claim benefits.

"We need a living wage that does not require people to come over here and claim benefits to top up."

The British Government has yet to publish its plans for a new post-Brexit migration system nearly two years after the EU referendum.

The lack of planning spurred the Home Affairs Committee to condemn the lack of a policy direction as “regrettable” and a “missed opportunity.”

The report noted: “Continued delays to the publication of the White Paper on Immigration and the Immigration Bill has meant there is little indication of what immigration policy will be.

“Despite the fact that the issue was subject to heated and divisive debate during the referendum campaigns in 2016 the Government has not attempted to build consensus on immigration reform or consult the public over future migration policy in the two years since.”

The Committee has warned that migration policy “now risks being caught up in a rushed and highly politicised debate in the run-up to the vote on the withdrawal agreement”.

The Chamber of British Commerce (CBI) has instead urged the Government to scrap "blunt targets" for immigration after Brexit, calling for a new freedom of movement system to be adopted.

CBI deputy chief Josh Hardie said: "This is no longer a theoretical debate, it's about the future of our nations.

"False choices and sloganeering must be avoided at all costs. Openness and control must not be presented as opposites. Public attitudes towards migration and the impact it has on communities are far more nuanced."

He added: "Scrapping blunt targets, ensuring all who come to the UK contribute and using the immigration dividend to support public services will add to public confidence."

The Chamber of British Commerce (CBI) has instead urged the Government to scrap "blunt targets" for immigration after Brexit, calling for a new freedom of movement system to be adopted.

CBI deputy chief Josh Hardie said: "This is no longer a theoretical debate, it's about the future of our nations.

"False choices and sloganeering must be avoided at all costs. Openness and control must not be presented as opposites. Public attitudes towards migration and the impact it has on communities are far more nuanced."

He added: "Scrapping blunt targets, ensuring all who come to the UK contribute and using the immigration dividend to support public services will add to public confidence."